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IRGC turns civilians’ houses into military posts in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Hussein is haunted by fears that his house might be destroyed due to threats by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He was forced to leave his house, which is located on the banks of the Euphrates River in the city of al-Quriyah in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, and reside in a relative’s house.
At first, Hussein al-Mansour, 47, thought the pressure he faced was due to the location of his house, expecting it to become a vacation spot for the families of the IRGC militants.
However, a few days after leaving, he discovered that a rocket launcher was set up in his house, and was turned to a post for militants of Iranian-backed militias.
According to people in areas controlled by Iranian-backed militias, they pressured the residents of Deir ez-Zor to leave their houses. Sometimes, the militias seize the civilians’ houses by the use of force and accused those who opposed them with false charges.
The IRGC exploited the dire economic conditions of the people to force them to leave their houses, turning them into military posts amid the absence of an actual authority of the government forces, whether in terms of civilian or military affairs.
Al-Mansour told North Press, the threats he faced were just the beginning. He added that his neighbors were threatened one by one “until the neighborhood became almost deserted.”
He called on the relevant authorities and human rights organizations to stop and condemn Iran’s violations and seizing properties of civilians to turn them into military sites.
Since early November, the IRGC has taken over five houses belonging to civilians in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing the total number of seized houses since the beginning of 2023 to more than 150. The majority of these houses have been turned into military posts and barracks, according to a source.
Ahmad al-Hamad, a pseudonym for a resident of the Tayyba neighborhood on the outskirts of the town of al-Mayadin in the east of Deir ez-Zor, also left his house after being harassed by his neighbors, who are militants in the IRGC.
Ahmad faced various forms of harassment, such as accusations of terrorism and false allegations, not to mention harassing women and girls in his family. All this forced him to abandon his house and leave the neighborhood.
Ten days later, the house was transformed into a weapons warehouse. When he objected, he was arrested for two days, then released with a written pledge not to claim the house or approach the neighborhood, he told North Press.
Al-Hamad noted that dozens of homeowners, whose houses were seized by Iranian-backed militias, helplessly left their areas and moved somewhere else.
Activists in areas west of the Euphrates, under the control of the government forces and Iranian-backed militias, informed North Press that residents in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor moved from neighborhoods where the militias set up posts to target areas east of the Euphrates held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The clashes and mutual shelling that occur between the SDF and the IRGC, who intentionally set up posts within residential neighborhoods, cause panic among the residents.
Hayel al-Haydar, a resident in al-Quriyah, said the majority of the residents in the city have fled to areas in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor, while others moved to the cities of Raqqa and Hasakah as a result of IRGC’s actions.
He added that the IRGC seized more than five houses in the city, which are located close to the banks of the Euphrates River. They placed rocket launchers inside to target SDF-held areas.
Original source | 
